The Blog

The Exodus media blog promoted the following propaganda pieces by antigay political allies this week, and withheld alternative viewpoints from the Exodus readership. (Exodus does not technically “endorse” what it promotes. But the half-truths that Exodus reprints — and the truths that it neglects to share with readers — are an indication of the integrity of the Exodus national office, or lack thereof.)

A LifeSite criticism of TV’s Dr. Phil for “promoting homosexuality.” LifeSite criticizes Dr. Phil’s reliance upon facts to criticize inaccurate claims of success issued by the abstinence-only sex-ed movement. LifeSite also mischaracterizes Dr. Phil’s position regarding Planned Parenthood. And LifeSite criticizes Dr. Phil for using a doctorate to imply expertise in unrelated fields, even as James Dobson and Warren Throckmorton have done the same. Because Dr. Phil weighs the available science, he is accused of “promoting homosexuality.”

A Concerned Women for America defense of Robert A. Jason, a Canadian from Fonthill, Ontario, who was confronted by local police (but not arrested) after he distributed hate mail about homosexuals. Samples of Jason’s tirades are available online. He regularly and broadly accuses anyone who supports tolerance, or who declines to reprint his venom, of being pro-gay, pro-abortion, anti-faith, anti-family, and anti-country. Jason offers no specific facts to support his accusations — and neither Concerned Women for America nor Exodus share the specific e-mail that got Jason in trouble with police. Even Jason acknowledges that the United States has a First Amendment to guard against Canada-style crackdowns on venomous foul-mouths. But Jason, and CWA, illogically conclude that the United States is at risk anyway.

Exodus also misidentifies the writer of the CWA article, Lee Duigon, who is affiliated with the Chalcedon Foundation, an organization dedicated to evolving the U.S. government and population into an ostensibly Bible-based theocracy. The organization was founded by Christian Reconstructionist R.J. Rushdoony. Memo to Exodus: Consider your sources.

A Concerned Women for America article cheering the removal, from an unrelated Senate bill, of a provision adding sexual orientation (both heterosexual and homosexual) to existing hate crimes legislation. Neither CWA nor Exodus explain their failure to oppose existing hate-crimes laws that toughen sentencing for offenses against certain social demographics but not others. In the view of CWA, some minorities are more equal than others — and Exodus seems content to promote that view (without officially endorsing it).

WorldNetDaily propaganda promoting antigay Massachusetts parent David Parker’s battle to prevent public schools from opposing antigay prejudice and violence. Exodus promotes WND’s accusation that “angry homosexual activists” somehow dominate the town of Lexington and its schools. WND neglects to explain why Parker has been banned from the town’s schools, and Exodus seems content to aid in that factual omission. WND and Exodus also seem to be transferring their own anger to their opponents: A site that monitors Massachusetts antigay group Article 8 reports regularly that it is Parker and his few supporters who are not only angry, but venting hatred of gay people and seeking to silence those who expose and oppose antigay violence.

A WND promotion of culture-war venom in the form of a new book whose title rants against the marketers of “evil” and “corruption”: “radicals, elitists, and pseudo-experts” — in other words, anyone who isn’t a social conservative. Exodus reprints an excerpt from the book that contends it was a conniving homosexual 12-year-old who “seduced” antigay conservative former congressman Robert Bauman, when he too was a youth, into growing up to have sex with male prostitutes.

An interview with Janet Folger, hosted by Focus on the Family. Folger, a former Coral Ridge Ministries activist who supports the imprisonment of homosexuals under sodomy laws, accuses equality and tolerance advocates of seeking to do likewise: jail “Christians” like her. But Folger offers no evidence of such efforts. Instead, she cites Swedish authorities’ efforts to limit the antigay public protests of pastor Ake Green. Folger neglects to note that Green’s freedom of speech was defended by homosexual activist Peter Tatchell — and Exodus complies with the factual omission. For more supposed proof of persecution against antigay Christians, Folger illogically cites conservative Muslim theocrats’ intolerance of Christians; Folger fails to indicate any similarities between Muslim theocrats and liberal equality advocates. For that matter, Folger fails to indicate any differences between those theocrats’ intolerance and her own. Coral Ridge Ministries, headed by D. James Kennedy, is sympathetic to the Christian Reconstructionist movement, which seeks to grow a Bible-based U.S. government that harshly punishes homosexuals, feminists, and other presumed heretics.

An American Family Association accusation that unseen “homosexual activists” hiding behind civil-liberties advocates are “pulling the strings” of Ohio youths who seek to reduce antigay violence and prejudice within their own school. AFA’s accusation is recycled from antigay Ohio activist Linda Harvey, and is unsupported by any facts. Harvey redefines “homosexuality” to be one specific high-risk behavior, and then smears anyone with same-sex attraction by attaching the redefined label to them. Exodus offers no objections.

Allegations by Alan Sears and Baptist Press — unsupported by evidence — that same-sex-attracted people pose a mortal threat to children in foster care.
The allegations have been frequently disproven by experts in child care and criminal justice, but Sears and Baptist Press withheld that information from readers, and Exodus complied with the omission and declined to cite what the experts actually say about sexual orientation and child care.

So much half-truth and misinformation, in just one very ordinary week at the Exodus media blog.

Mike Airhart was the founding editor of Ex-Gay Watch, until he left in 2007. He has returned as a contributing writer. He has written periodically for Truth Wins Out, and volunteered for Men Can Stop Rape, Whitman-Walker Clinic, WaterFire Providence, and the Providence Equality Action Committee. His background includes expertise in journalism, business news, content syndication, human rights, sexual harassment issues, and liberation theology.